Trigger
by Caris August
Summary: When Ruby leaves Belle chained in the library she does it to protect her, unaware that the action may trigger a rather malicious reminder of her 28 years trapped in a lonely cell in the bottom of Storybrooke Hospital. Wolf comfort. Red Beauty. Kind of cute.


**Sorry if this ends abruptly, didn't know where I wanted to go from there so I chose nowhere. Might add another chapter someday! But not too soon so don't look forward to anything. **

**Following season 2, episode 7: Child of the Moon**

* * *

Red ran as quick as the wind, her four legs pumping endlessly. She had forgotten this feeling, the flecks of dirt that turned up as she raced ahead, the air bristling past her ears, through her fur. This was freedom on a plate. Nothing could ever compare to wolfstime when she was in control of the beast.

This feeling, this liberation, was the blessing in her curse.

Ruby slowed and pawed the ground, claws puncturing the forest floor. She could smell _everything. _The trees, the mud, the animals cowering from her in the darkness. And she could hear even more. The whisper of rustling leaves, an owl over 5 miles away, the murmur of the dissipating mob that had almost succeeded in killed her.

The mob. Red turned and stared back at the direction of the town. She had left Belle chained in the library; if she could speak she would swear repeatedly at her stupidity. The girl had only been trying to protect her, to comfort her, and in return Ruby had locked her up and left her without looking back. That was one hell of a way to treat a friend.

She had told David to release her, and she was sure he would, but the town was in chaos at the moment. Ruby was sure he had more pressing matters to deal with and Belle probably wouldn't be released till morning. Feeling guilty, Ruby pranced back towards Storybrooke hurriedly. Her shame overpowering the need to run free.

She heard the sobs before she even turned the corner onto the library's street, they lingered on the air for only a wolf's ears to hear. Ruby ran the rest of the way, worry building inside her. Why was Belle crying? She was safe, yeah locked up, but still safe.

Locked up.

Belle French had been held prisoner in Regina's secret asylum beneath the hospital for the last 28 years. Never feeling the light of day, never able to escape that cell, never seeing another human being except Regina's sneering face through the peephole. And Ruby had just proceeded to chain her in the library. Alone. Where no one could hear her screams. Well shit.

Hearing the urgency in Belle's cries and fearing a full-blown panic attack, Ruby rammed herself heavily against the library door. She crashed through and tumbled awkwardly into the entryway, landing unsteadily on her front paws.

The crying stopped immediately and Ruby looked up to find Belle sunken to the floor with her arms still wrapped around her knees and rocking back and forth at a crazed pace. Her cheeks were tearstained and red and she was breathing hard, an involuntary sob still escaping her every 10 seconds or so. The girl reeked of terror, the fear falling off of Belle in waves. Strangely enough, the fear didn't heighten when she spotted the wolf that stood five feet away.

"R-ruby?" Belle hiccupped, frowning adorably at the giant mass of fur before her.

Ruby padded closer and then sat down on her haunches in front of the librarian. _Don't be scared, Belle, don't be scared, _she ducked her head in submission. Belle searched the wolf's face, finding the big yellow concerned eyes and breathing a shaky sigh. "Oh gosh," she sobbed, crying all over again as she reached for the creature and hauled her close. "I-I thought… for a minute I thought… I was back there. In _that cell._"

Belle held tight and buried her head into Ruby's fur-clad neck, Ruby stiffened against the girl's hold. Belle knew she was hugging a werewolf, right? Apparently it didn't matter; Ruby nuzzled her hair with her snout. Her ears laid back in regret that she had caused this reaction out of Belle by keeping her here against her will, and she whined softly.

_I didn't want to hurt you. _

Belle held onto her tighter. They stayed like that for a long time, until the sobs and cries and big wet tears faded into soft, embarrassed sniffles. Ruby whined again and Belle finally leaned back as if just realizing the wolf before her was actually the waitress from the diner. She smiled and Ruby looked down with guilt. "No," she scolded, "none of that." Her hand curled under Ruby's snout and made her look up; Belle frowned as she ran a thumb across the soft fur under those yellow eyes. "It's okay… Ruby, it's okay. I just got scared, you forgot about what happened to me …and it's all okay. I'm alright now, really."

Ruby leaned into the hand stroking her face, looking back at Belle and those tearstained cheeks. _I'm so sorry._

Belle smiled a bit and rattled the chains that still held her captive, "so, since you don't have those pockets you put the key in I guess I'm stuck here for a while, huh?"

The wolf seemed to smirk at her as she padded behind the librarian. Belle watched in disbelief as Ruby took the chain between her teeth and bit down hard. The metal bent with a protesting crunch and Ruby shook her head violently, snapping the chains apart easily. Belle's mouth was open in shock and Ruby smirked internally.

"Ookay," Belle drawled with a nod, "one perk of being a werewolf: killer jaw power… pun intended."

Ruby would have laughed if it were possible, instead she just bumped Belle playfully as she circled back to lie down in front of her. The cuffs were still attached to her wrists, but at least now Belle was free to move. Instead of standing she circled her arms back around her knees and put her chin over them, watching Ruby curiously.

"So that's really you?" Belle asked suddenly, "under all that fur and fluff?"

Ruby growled. What fluff was that woman talking about?

She laughed and Ruby found it so beautiful that the sneer fell straight off the wolf's face. She was beyond confused that Belle wasn't at least a bit weary of her. She was a 4 foot tall wolf with glowing eyes; most people just ran the other way. Even Snow White, her most understanding friend had still winced and looked uncomfortable whenever she was around Ruby's counterpart. But Belle was watching, not with unease, but with awe.

She watched as the girl reached out and ran a hand down her furry neck. "Sorry about the fluff thing," Belle smiled, "it's just, you're really soft… I wasn't expecting that."

Ruby huffed and laid her head upon her paws, even throwing in an eye roll which Belle noted looked incredibly strange coming from the creature before her.

She bit her lip, "I honestly have no idea why anyone would try to attack you, that mob was crazy. I don't know how they couldn't see you… the real you, I mean."

_If only you realize what I'm capable of, _Ruby thought, _the things I've done. _She reminded herself to have a talk with Belle about the instability of werewolves, it wouldn't go over well if the librarian ever tried to initiate conversation with any other "child of the moon" like she was doing with her right now. But Ruby found herself enjoying the way Belle talked to her, like she wasn't some monster.

Belle ended up changing positions at some point, moving until she was lying on her side facing Ruby. She talked and talked and Ruby listened. She learned as she sat protectively beside the girl that Belle ran through topics like there was no tomorrow, she jumped from tonight's mob to her battle with some cursed prince in the Enchanted Forest to a book she had read a week ago and then back to the mob quicker than Ruby could process. It was strange seeing Belle so open, chattering incessantly, but Ruby finally realized after the 10th conversation change that Belle was just trying to forget being chained up. Her panic from earlier still scared her, it was still messing with her head.

There was a pang in Ruby's chest upon realizing this and she hopped up, moving to lay down directly behind Belle. Pressing against her back and spooning her the way a pet dog would spoon a little child. Belle tensed, then relaxed, then tensed again as Ruby placed her head beside the brunette's curled hair and breathed out a sigh which tickled her ears. Her tail draped itself over Belle's knees lazily.

After a long moment, Belle pressed back against Ruby and closed her eyes at the wolf's warmth. She shivered and murmured a soft "thank you". Belle talked awhile more in soft hushed tones and then Ruby felt her breaths even out as the girl drifted off. She sighed in contentment, not missing her run at all, and soon found herself watching Belle's chest rise and fall peacefully, drawing her into a dreamless sleep.

-::-

Belle awoke to pale dawn sunlight flowing through the windows, illuminating the bookshelves in a pastel-like glow. She started at first, head shooting up and unsure why she had spent the night in the library. Her eyes squinted sleepily and as she shifted Belle felt a hand slip off her hip. Turning, she found Ruby curled against her and she remembered briefly being chained and left alone in the dark the night before. And then she remembered Ruby's wolfstime rescue.

Belle rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled at Ruby's sleeping form. The girl had a hand under her head, the arm that had been around Belle's waist now laid limply at her side, and her left leg was entangled in Belle's and looped over one of her knees. She sighed and pulled away, rolling over and propping up on one elbow so that she faced Ruby.

"Hey," she said, her voice raspy, "Ruby… wake up."

The werewolf grunted and squinted before rolling away and huddling into herself, mumbling about having the morning shift off.

"Ruby," Belle grinned and shook her friend's shoulder roughly, "hey, come on."

Suddenly, Ruby shot upwards as she realized abruptly that she wasn't asleep in her bed, rather her right side was sore from sleeping on tiled floor. Belle watched as she whipped around in confusion. Eventually catching sight of Belle, Ruby offered her a tired smile as she remembered where she was.

"… Morning," Ruby managed and sunk back to the floor easily.

"Good morning," Belle chimed.

"Ungh, what time is it?" Ruby lifted up her wrist and glanced at the watch to answer her own question with a moan. "It's only… 6:08." She re-closed her eyes and made herself comfortable again, "Belle… I need sleep. Waking up this early is against the rules."

Belle rolled her eyes, "what rules?"

"My rules." She hunched an eyebrow when she felt small fingers slip into her jeans pockets, "what are you doing…?"

Belle pulled back and held up the key for her still-cuffed wrists. Ruby nodded with a wince, suddenly flagged with images of the girl crying helplessly in the midst of a panic attack. Belle noticed her friend's expression and soothed her as she slipped the key into the lock, "hey, don't think about it, it's alright."

"I'm sorry…"

"I know." They shared a momentarily solemn look before Belle offered her a smile. "If you stay there any longer you'll kill your back," she stood and grabbed Ruby's arm to haul her up, "come on, I'll make you breakfast."

"You're a morning person." Ruby stated as Belle walked her up the stairs to the apartment above the library. "Grrrreat…"

Belle laughed as she opened the door and the sound licked Ruby's sensitive ears. Caressing them with the softest of touches. Tickling like a feather. And as Belle waltzed around her small galley-like kitchen, humming softly to herself, Ruby felt a long lost sense of belonging. She didn't want to be anywhere other than here and after trying her whole life to escape either the Queen's guards or Granny's overprotective grip she found it to be a completely foreign feeling.

Not bad, Ruby decided instantly as Belle winked at her over the eggs she was cracking into a frying pan, never bad. Just different.

"So you didn't attack me last night," Belle said nonchalantly, setting down the pan over the burner and turning up the stove.

Ruby sat down on one of the rickety dining chairs, turning it to face the girl. "No… no, I didn't," she paused, "when I crashed through the door, did you think that was what I was going to do?"

"No."

"Oh," she shifted, "you seemed pretty shook up when I found you."

Belle looked up from the midst of placing two pieces of multigrain in the toaster before her, she eyed Ruby carefully. "Reliving 28 years of solitary confinement will do that to a person."

So the panic attack and the crying _had_ been from that, Ruby felt low from bringing it up again but she had wanted to confirm her suspicions. She breathed out a sigh, "Belle, I would never have left you there if I thought…" She stopped, because it was a lie. She would have still left her chained in the library even if she had of known Belle would have a fit and a half. She would do anything to protect Belle from the wolf. "I didn't even think about it, I was just trying to keep you safe. I'm s-"

"Don't." Belle spat, the warning tone in her voice made Ruby glance up in surprise. She had never heard the librarian raise her voice at anyone, and it made her feel twistedly privileged that she was capable of pushing Belle to anger. She watched Belle bite her bottom lip, staring out the window over Ruby's head and breathing slowly. "Don't apologize," she murmured, speaking calmly once more, "Stop saying sorry, it's over now, I understand why you did it and I forgive you. Now let's drop it and eat breakfast."

Ruby smiled tentatively and got to her feet, "'kay, let me help you."

Belle surrendered the toaster to Ruby while she watched over the eggs. They worked in companionable silence, occasionally bumping hips as they shuffled around the kitchen. At one point Ruby asked where the peanut butter was. Belle pointed to the cupboard above her head and before she could move out of the way Ruby was behind her, hand on Belle's waist and breath in her ear as she reached up to open the cabinet.

For a brief moment she felt Ruby's chest against her back and the air hitched in her throat in response to their closeness. She cursed when Ruby chuckled and tightened her hand on her hip, knowing the wolf had heard her gasp. "Easy there," she smirked against Belle and then she was gone, retreating back to her side of the kitchen.

They were eating together at the tiny table minutes later, Belle taking the seat closest to the window while Ruby sat across from her. She watched Ruby devour her food greedily and realized the other girl had been running around half the night and was probably starved. Her fork clattered onto the plate as Ruby finished, Belle was still in the midst of raising her fifth bite delicately to her lips.

She quirked her eyebrows, "I'm very sure you just inhaled that."

"Hungry," Ruby shrugged, not looking the smallest bit of embarrassed. Belle figured that she had never been invited to a formal dinner in the Enchanted Forest; if she had she would have at least had the decency to cross her legs while she sat.

Ruby crossed her arms over the table, leaning forward as Belle placed another bit of egg in her mouth. She chewed slowly, swallowed, and stared over at Ruby warily, "could you not look like you are watching the 5 O'clock News while you watch me eat?"

The girl in front of her laughed easily and leaned back a bit, "sorry you're just so…"

"What?"

"Regal looking." Ruby grinned, "Like some princess or something."

This time Belle grinned, "Well, that would make sense… since, you know, I am."

Ruby blanched, her eyes widening, and she leaned forward all over again. "Wha?" she stuttered, "You are?"

Belle frowned, she didn't know that Ruby hadn't been aware of her heritage. She had automatically assumed most people knew she was Maurice's daughter, heir to the throne of Sherwood Forest, but then she remembered that Ruby hadn't known her back in their world. They had met for the first time after the breaking of the curse.

"Yeah," Belle flushed under Ruby's intent staring, as if she had just met her for the first time, "I'm ah… King Maurice's daughter, his only child actually."

"You're next in line to rule Sherwood?!"

"Yup."

"That's, that's insane," Ruby cradled her head in her hand, still staring at her in disbelief. "How did I not know that? I mean, I knew Maurice had a daughter, but I never knew her name. Didn't think it was important, since the Enchanted Forest and Sherwood Forest are so far apart. Maybe I would have looked into it if the Queen's guards drove me out of the kingdom. Why didn't you ever mention it?"

"It's not something I like to flaunt about," Belle shrugged and stuck her fork in the direction of Ruby, "Believe me when I say being royalty is not all it's cracked up to be."

Ruby moaned, "you're… royalty… this is so weird."

Belle laughed, "What does it matter? I'm still Belle French, hopelessly lost girl you found slurping up iced teas in the dinner."

"True," the girl agreed after a beat of thinking it over in her mind, "except now I get to refer to you as "princess" or "your highness"."

"Please don't," Belle said with a frown that made Ruby smile.

"Only when you're annoying," Ruby promised and rushed on as Belle opened her mouth in defiance, "which means I'll never get to say it!"

Belle huffed but her eyes sparkled and Ruby sat mesmerized under her gaze. She grinned at her and stood to put her dishes away, Belle followed and ran the water to fill the sink. Ruby watched her add a generous amount of detergent and then open a side drawer to pull out a washcloth and washtowel.

"Wet or dry?" Belle asked innocently, holding up both items in either hand.

Ruby bit her lip until realization dawned on the librarian's features.

"Ruby!" Belle shrieked, throwing the washtowel at her face.

She swiped it easily from the air and laughed as she turned back to the sink, "come on, Princess, these dishes won't clean themselves."

-::-

Ruby figured she would be asked to leave and head back home once the remnants of breakfast had been cleaned and put away. She waited patiently, leaning against the sideboard, as Belle bit her lip and glanced around. Knowing the girl was at a loss, Red decided to help her out. She pointed over her shoulder to the door, "Well, I guess I should…"

"Stay."

Ruby faltered, "Uh, what?"

Belle threw her hands up in the air and laughed nervously, "I… um, you should stay. If you want to. I need to run some errands soon, you could accompany me?"

She was shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot, waiting for an answer, and Ruby found it enchanting and knew that she couldn't say 'no' even if she wanted to. Which she didn't. "I'd like that," she said sincerely.

Belle flashed her a smile. "Great," she shuffled some more before reaching for her blue pea-coat on the hanger by the door. She shrugged it on and buttoned it up carefully, "let's go… oh, wait. Do you need a jacket?"

Ruby shook her head, "its wolfstime, I never get cold."

"Right." They headed out.

* * *

**Review if you want more!**


End file.
